This spring, Reston National will be working towards
re-certification of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses.

“The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary
Program for Golf is an award winning education and certification
program that helps golf courses protect our environment and preserve the
natural heritage of the game of golf. By helping people enhance the valuable
natural areas and wildlife habitats that golf courses provide, improve
efficiency, and minimize potentially harmful impacts of golf course operations,
the program serves an important environmental role worldwide.”-Audubon
International website.

Reston National
was originally certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in 2007. It is required to re-certify every 2 years to
retain certification. This involves
documentation of naturalized areas, wildlife inventories, and documentation of
chemical and fertilizer inputs. This
will be the fourth re-certification at Reston National, and the second that I
have personally been involved with. This
program is designed to help us enhance the natural and environmental aspects of
the golf course. Many of the practices
that benefit the environment also save the golf course time and money, and in
many cases add to the aesthetics. An
example of this is the naturalized areas that we maintain throughout the
course. Not only does it lend to a
natural look and save time on mowing, the longer grass and brush gives shelter
to small animals. For more information
please visit auduboninternational.org

This year we will
also be participating in a field trial with the Propane Education &
Research Council (PERC). A company will
be donating 4 pieces of equipment to a select few golf courses across the
country for a period of a year. Reston
National applied for this trial and we were selected to be one of the golf
courses. The purpose of the trial is to
show the savings of running propane equipment compared to gas and diesel. Propane costs less than gas and diesel, and
also has less of an impact on the environment and on engines.